


Stupid Cupid (Don't) Stop Picking On Me

by PlutoApologist



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-08 00:46:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21467269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlutoApologist/pseuds/PlutoApologist
Summary: Valentine's Day for Shelby takes an unexpected turn.
Relationships: Kaylee/Shelby (The Prom Musical)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	Stupid Cupid (Don't) Stop Picking On Me

Stupid Cupid you're a real mean guy  
I'd like to clip your wings so you can't fly  
I'm in love and it's a crying shame  
And I know that you're the one to blame  
Hey hey, set me free  
Stupid Cupid stop picking on me 

Shelby Gonzalez had a personal beef with the gods. One god specifically. Stupid fucking Cupid, who had made her intensely, heartachingly, terribly, fall for her best friend. One very straight Kaylee Klein. Straight as in won’t watch a tv show with a gay couple in it straight. She had hated Valentines Day since elementary school and thought the drama club raising money for a cabaret with Valentines was one of the worst ideas she had ever heard.

“Valentine for Shelby Gonzalez.” Shelby excitedly raised her hand and Greg trotted over to her, the wings he had gotten from the theater department flopping miserably behind him. They were practically begging for mercy, along with all the students who the flimsy wings were hitting. Greg handed her a red heart and she couldn’t help but beam at Kaylee’s stupidly perfect handwriting. Her handwriting was so neat it looked like it was typed. Of course, she put a little red heart at the end. Her heart did a somersault at that heart and Shelby wanted to hit pause on life. This wasn’t right. She was giving her a Valentine like she had every Valentines day since 3rd grade. They’d been doing that since they were kids. It was a purely platonic action. She couldn’t seem to prove that to her stubborn heart though. It took every glance as a promise and every casual touch as an excuse to warm her skin.

It was cruel to give her a sexual identity crisis while she was still learning how to navigate the muddy waters of high school. It had little white lace around the edge and she wanted to frame it. Or throw it straight in the trash. She didn’t even know anymore. 

“Hey Shelbs. You okay?” She looked over in surprise at Kevin peering through her mess of curly hair. 

“I’m fine. Just a little tired,” She tried to smile encouragingly, trying not to reveal how much of a circus her life was beneath her perfectly put together exterior. Kevin raised his eyebrows and leaned back, almost falling out of his chair. 

“You sure it doesn’t have to do with that valentine?” Shelby scoffed, but she couldn’t keep the blush off her face. Kevin wiggled his eyebrows and put his feet up on the desk, very precariously balancing on only two of the chairs legs. “Who is it from?”

“It’s from Kaylee,” Shelby mumbled, pressing her lips tightly together. 

“Then it’s not a big deal unless…. Oh shit.” He righted his chair, crinkling his brow and leaned in, whispering. “I didn’t mean to- are you okay?”

“We’ll talk about it later.” Preferably, they would talk about many years later when she was a crazy cat lady, but Kevin’s pointed look showed otherwise. 

Shelby tried to pay attention, but Valentine she still hadn’t let go of kept pulling her attention. Class passed slowly, equations melting away just as she learned them. She couldn’t let go of the valentine all of class, turning it over just fast enough that she couldn’t read the note on it. Kaylee greeted her outside the classroom, hand in hand with Nick. For some reason, if she looked for longer than second at them holding hands, her heart twinged uncomfortably. 

Kaylee greeted her brightly with a hug that put her body flush against hers. Just being hugged that tightly made her feel weak. Shelby leaned on the lockers, a nervous smile settling on her face. 

“What was that for?” 

“It’s Valentine's Day!” Kaylee squealed, swinging her and Nick’s intertwined hands. 

“Babe, I’ll see you at lunch I have to run to Algebra.” Nick pecked her lips lazily before shouldering his backpack and treading past them. 

“Kay’, I don’t think you understand the meaning of Valentine's Day. It’s not for friends it’s for...couples.” Kaylee frowned, looking in confusion at her. 

“What do you mean by that?”

“We’re not a couple.” Her heart sank at the finality of that statement into the murky depths of her soul. Kaylee pulled her backpack tight, her smile faltering.

“But it’s fun! Didn’t you like the card?” Kaylee frowned, and her heart beat faster trying to stay calm. Her brain protested but what functioning parts of her heart were left protested louder to bring the beautiful smile back to her face. 

“I did. I’m sorry, I was just being dumb.” Her friend impishly nudged her a bright smile blooming from her previous frown. Shelby could only smile back wistfully. She would reserve a brighter smile for a sunnier day when she could kiss the sweet lips that formed that smile. 

“Did you like what I wrote?”

“I didn’t get to read it yet,” Shelby admitted, looking steadfastly at the floor. Kaylee hummed sadly next to her. She playfully bumped Kaylee’s shoes with her boots. “You could tell me what you wrote.”

“Roses are red, violets are blue, the moon is beautiful and you are too.” Shelby sighed out involuntarily at the last line. She could feel the little distance between their hands, all it would take is a few inches for them to meet and just maybe she would ...no that was wrong. Kaylee was her best friend. 

“It was that bad?” Kaylee grimaced and twisted her hands back and forth, bending the Valentine out of shape. Shelby took the card urgently and pressed it back into shape, looking her friend in the eyes. 

“It was beautiful. I mean it. I’ll treasure it, Amanda Kaylee Klein.” Her heart beat unsteadily. She had never been this thrown off balance before. A holy silence passed, and all she could do was flicker her eyes up to Kaylee. She had never seen an eclipse in her life, but she imagined it felt like this. A light so beautiful you can look at it so long before you got burned. 

“Even Nick didn’t like what I wrote that much. I think he lost the Valentine I made him already,” Kaylee sighed. She should have walked away before she got burned. 

“I guess I’m a really good friend.” The bell saved her from saying something stupid and Shelby rushed to the bathroom. Shelby couldn’t deal with it anymore. Everything Kaylee said crushed her heart further until it would dissolve into the wind. She knew that no matter what she would reply with a smile, crushing her heart further, until she no longer had one. Shelby caught a tear flowing down her cheek with her finger and aggressively smeared other tears that had escaped. She had been through this routine before. Wipe her tears, put on her makeup and start over. She should have known better than to believe she deserves something beautiful. 

An awkward shuffle and the sound of the door creaking caught her attention. Shelby hurriedly got up from the stall she had hid in and cried out to the other girl. “Please stay. I… don’t want to be alone right now.”

The other girl shuffled over hesitantly and Shelby peeked her head out, her vulnerable eyes meeting the strangers wide eyes. 

“You’re the gay kid…”

“Emma. My name’s Emma, i’m not just ‘the gay kid’.” Emma crossed her arms, glowering at Shelby. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to….”

“Nobody ever means to,” Emma muttered, focusing intensely on pulling the strings of her hoodie tight. Shelby leaned on the wall next to her and Emma’s shoulders went tight. With a sigh, she scooted further down the wall from her. 

“I’m sorry. I really am. I understand how you feel.” Emma was silent too long after she spoke. She narrowed her eyes and pushed herself off the wall sharply. 

“You don’t understand how I feel,” Emma hissed at her, starting to walk off. Shelby grabbed at her backpack, and she turned around, a fire she had never seen in her eyes before. Normally Emma walked the halls meek and scared.

“I think I’m in love with a girl. And I hear what they say about you and just get so scared because I know I’m not as strong as you and it makes me want to die. Is that what you want to hear,” Shelby seethed, her fists tight at her side. Hot tears slipped down her cheeks but she was done. Let them come. Let the gods (namely Cupid) see how done she was with their bullshit.

“Shit, shit, okay, we’re doing this.” Emma wrapped her in an awkward hug that Shelby gladly received, clinging to her tightly.

“Hey, be careful, I gotta breathe,” Emma chuckled awkwardly pulling out of her embrace and sliding down the wall. She patted the ground next to her with a patient smile. “Take a seat in my office.”

“You don’t have to do this, you know. We’ve tortured you.”

“You have. But everyone deserves kindness when they’re hurting.” Emma paused reflectively and thoughtfully smiled. “And you’re being less of a dick right now. I can almost see you as a real human being.”

“Wow, thanks,” Shelby chuckled, sliding down next to Emma. She slyly wiped the last of her tears. 

“You’re gay, I’m gay, it’s no big deal,” Emma said, shrugging uncomfortably. 

“I don’t know if I’m gay, I’ve never even dated a girl before I just think they smell really nice and-”

“Do you like girls?”

“Yeah.” Shelby paused reflectively, thinking of the soft curve of Kaylee’s cheek and how dry her mouth got when she helped Kaylee put on makeup. “I guess Brie Larson’s pretty hot.”

“Nice.” Emma held out a hand for a high five and smiled crookedly. She smiled back and gave her a weak high five, forgetting for a moment that she was sitting on a bathroom floor with a stranger. Emma pulled her knees close with a sigh, a focused look in her eyes. “Look, we have to support each other. There aren’t many of us at this school. I’ve got your back.”

Emma’s eyes seemed brighter and suddenly the bad bathroom lighting framed Emma’s curls like a halo. Shelby scooted closer and took a breath before leaning in with her eyes closed, her hand ghosting over her cheek. 

“Hey, this isn’t what you want. I’ve been there.” Her eyes fluttered open to find Emma’s hand gently sitting on top of hers. Shelby let her head fall onto her knees with a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. 

“I know I shouldn’t but you were so nice and sweet…” Shelby mumbled into her knees, her brain already playing back the moment, every second of it shameful. 

“I’m still there for you. I just can’t be there for you like that. Only she can.”

“I want Kaylee.” Shelby groaned out painfully. She looked up, her eyes wide as saucers. “You’re not going to tell anybody are you?”

“It’s our secret,” Emma said solemnly, pushing herself off the floor. “I have to go to class, they probably think I was hiding from them. Will you be okay?”

“I hope so.”

I can't do my homework and I can't think straight  
I meet her every morning 'bout half past eight  
I'm acting like a lovesick fool  
You've even got me carrying his books to school  
Hey hey, set me free  
Stupid Cupid stop picking on me

“What are we supposed to write about for English again?”

“Poetry about something we love,” Shelby muttered, staring at her math homework hoping answers would appear. Kaylee pushed herself up, peering over her shoulder. Kaylee smelled sweet, like lilacs and peaches. Her heart raced, but some of Kaylee’s hair had landed on her shoulder and it felt so sublime resting on her skin. 

“You’ve been working on that for fifteen minutes I thought you were good at math.” Shelby couldn’t articulate a response with Kaylee’s face close enough to feel her body heat. Kaylee squinted and pointed at the first part of the problem. “You did the math wrong. Four plus five is nine, not eleven. You did it wrong here too. You okay Shelbs?”

“Just a little exhausted I guess,” Shelby said, coming out strained and desperate. Kaylee hummed sympathetically and took out her ponytail. Her cheeks heated up as Kaylee ran her hands through the knots. “What are you doing?”

“I’m braiding your hair,” Kaylee chirped, starting to part the sections delicately. Before she hyperventilated from gay panic, Shelby spat out. “What are you going to write about for English?”

“I think I'll write about you.”

“Me?” She clutched the blanket tightly, glad Kaylee couldn’t see how stupidly excited she looked. Kaylee continued to braid her hair gently, as if she hadn’t just made her heart grow five sizes. 

“Of course, you dummy,” Kaylee said softly, poking her dimple. “Who else would I write it about?”

“Nick, maybe?”

“Nick’s dumb. Boyfriends are dumb. Who loves their boyfriend?” Her breathing became shallow, but she didn’t dare think she had a chance. She couldn’t let herself get broken down again. One day, Shelby feared she would get broken down and not be able to get up. 

“Write it now?” Shelby asked timidly, barely loud enough for Kaylee to hear. Kaylee pulled her hair too tight, freezing in her tracks. 

“I won’t remember it.”

“Saying it out loud helps.” Shelby wished she could see Kaylee’s face, so her heart would know when it was safe to beat again. Kaylee starting braiding again with trembling hands.

“Her eyes twin sunsets light up my life, they bring color to my life, her breath, her smile, all perfection, without her I am nothing, I am a lone star in my own universe, Oh god bring me my universe.” She said it like a prayer, her hands braiding Shelby’s locks of dark hair performing an intricate ritual. A warm and comfortable silence settled over them and Kaylee turned to face her, tucking her feet under her knees. Shelby took her hands slowly, one by one after she got an affirmative nod. She took one of her hands reluctantly out of the warmth and safety of Kaylee’s hand and brushed her thumb over lips gently.

“Can I?”

“Yes,” Kaylee had barely breathed a response and they were leaning in, lips touching with the gentlest touch. They jumped apart at a knock on the door and Shelby already missed, needed, her touch to soothe her. Kaylee yelled through the door at her mom, but she couldn’t concentrate on anything she said. The feeling of Kaylee’s lips on hers still lingered, leaving Shelby caught in her spell. 

When she came back to reality Kaylee was sitting at the edge of the bed, biting her lip and kneading the sheets. 

“Kay’, that was all I dreamed, no it was better. Am I dreaming?” Shelby giggled, crawling over the bed to take her hands again

“Can we get back to work?” Kaylee said with a strained voice, jumping like she had been shocked when Shelby’s hand brushed hers. 

“Did I do something wrong?” 

“No, you could never do anything wrong. I’m just...so scared. I’ve felt like this for so long and now that’s it’s real I don’t know what to do.” Kaylee crawled back to the pillows of her bed and buried her head in the pillows, muffling her voice. Her voice was so small and lost that Shelby wanted to squeeze the sadness out of her.

“I’m scared too. We could be scared together,” Shelby responded tentatively, taking her place at Kaylee’s side. Kaylee only looked up at her, her eyes shiny and wide. “Can I put my arm on your shoulder?”

Shelby tentatively put her arm around when she got a nod, squeaking in surprise when Kaylee took that as an opportunity to snuggle in 

“Is that okay? Nick always want to be the little spoon.” She sounded so innocent for causing all the air to leave her lungs. Kaylee guided Shelby’s hand to rest over hers on her belly. 

“Yeah, it’s cool,” Shelby said, trying to maintain composure despite her touch lighting her up on the inside like a Christmas tree. They were silent for a long time, just basking in being close to each other. They matched their breathing to each other, minds, hearts and breath in sync. 

“I think I want to break up with Nick.”

“I didn’t mean to- “ Shelby tried to pull herself away from Kaylee’s arms, but she was pulled back. 

“It’s not because of you. I like you, but I had this idea that I had to have a sweetheart and get married and have kids and that it had to be a man, but ...I don’t know, Shelbs, this isn’t so bad. Is it like this with every woman?” Shelby let her head fall onto Kaylee’s shoulder, letting out a disappointed sigh.

“Do you want to do this with other women?”

You mixed me up for good right from the very start  
Hey now, go play Robin Hood with somebody else's heart

“No, I only want to do it with you.” Kaylee turned over and started tracing patterns on exposed skin on her belly. Shelby made a mental note to thank the gods for her wearing a loose shirt today. Her breath hitched as Kaylee leaned in, her hands tracing patterns higher up. Her skin sparked beneath her fingers. She needed relief. She needed Kaylee.

“I want to kiss you again,” Kaylee whispered, making Shelby’s lips tremble out a shaky breath. Shelby moved in quickly, pressing an urgent kiss to her lips. She could feel Kaylee’s pulse beneath her hands beating hard and fast. Kaylee had taken her breath away, now it was her turn. She kissed her back, weakly at first, then enthusiastically, like there was no one else in the world.Her fingers tangled Shelby’s hair, undoing the braid she’d done earlier. There was no explosion or fire, but a single spark that drew her soul out from hiding. Kaylee’s lips curled into a blissful smile as she drew back.

“Wish granted.”

You got me jumping like a crazy clown  
And I don't feature what you're putting down  
Since I kissed her loving lips of wine  
The thing that bothers me is that I like it fine  
Hey hey, set me free  
Stupid Cupid stop picking on me

“We have to get up eventually.”

“Never,” Shelby pouted, clutching around Kaylee’s middle tightly. With a sigh, Kaylee wriggled her way out of the tight grip. 

“People will notice.”

“Let them,” Shelby sighed, resting her head on Kaylee’s shoulder and running her hands through her hair.

“Shelby, you know what my mom thinks.”

“I didn’t think. I’m sorry,” Shelby said, biting her lip and drawing her hands back to her lap. 

“I just want to think about you now. Let’s forget about her.” Kaylee drew Shelby’s head up gently with her thumb. She traced her jawline, starry eyed.

“Just by being with me I’d hurt you. I never want to hurt you.” Kaylee brought her forehead to Shelby’s, looking at her with eyes full of gentleness and strength. Her seafoam green eyes were a beacon bringing her back to safety. 

“I know I want to be with you. No matter what the world sees we know it.”

“But- “

“- The only thing that matters is you and me. The rest is background noise. I’ll show you.” Kaylee pressed a kiss on Shelby’s forehead and starting tapping at her phone, with a thoughtful hum.

“What are you -” Kaylee cut her off, putting a finger to her lips and smiled as Teenage Dirtbag started to play from her phone. She bounded up and held out a hand. For a moment it was just silence and the distance between their hands calling Sheby. “See, it’s just us. No bad parents telling us what to do, no fear, no judgement. We’ll always have little moments like this. Dance with me.”

Shelby didn’t take her hand and Kaylee just shrugged starting to jump up and down on the bed and toss her hair side to side. Their cheeks both bloomed a colorful red as Kaylee jumped closer and closer with no other care in the world than making Shelby happy. Kaylee was moving too fast for her to keep track of, but it didn’t matter. She could feel the love emanating from her. Shelby sat upright eagerly. It felt like every nerve of hers lit up so she could take in all of her beauty. She couldn’t contain a laugh as Kaylee jumped off the bed dramatically, striking a pose.

“God you’re so dumb. I love you.” 

“Hey, I’m not dumb, you’re… what did you say?” Fear crept into her voice and she slowed down till she looked like she was made of stone. 

“I love you,” Shelby repeated joyfully, getting up and standing beside her. Shelby starting dancing, all wild limbs and messy hair, shocking Kaylee out of her stupor. With a mischievous grin she joined in, walking with the beat and throwing her hips into the music. Shelby slid on her knees to Kaylee, biting her lip and looking up at her. She trailed her hands up her legs teasingly as she rose, settling her hands on her hips still moving to the music. 

“Is this love for you too?” Kaylee stopped moving to the music and opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. For a moment, she only listened to Kaylee’s breathing. She breathed in. Out. In. Out. 

“Maybe,” Kaylee finally spoke, giving Shelby the ability to breathe again. 

“Do you want it to be?”

“Yes.”


End file.
